Travels With Buddha — 10.11 — Trees of Mystery, Klamath, Del Norte County, California

“Oh Tannebaum, Oh Tannebaum, how lovely are thy branches….”

I have to tell Buddha that though the trees look vast and gigantic the old growth redwood forest is now only a relatively small strip of land (about 40,000 acres) that is set aside in the Redwoods National and State Parks. This is about 5% of the original old growth redwood forest that was alive and well when the Europeans first “discovered” it. The remaining 95 % is now lumber and sawdust. Well, mostly sawdust at this point.

Buddha is not surprised. He began to question me when we drove past the 49 foot tall wooden statue of Paul Bunyan at Trees of Mystery in Del Norte. The only mystery Buddha could see was why they cut the majestic redwoods to make a wood effigy of a giant logger in the first place.

Capitalism, I told him. Glorified production, glorified consumption. It’s what makes the capitalist world go round.

Like Christmas trees, Buddha says.

He does not understand why humans are cutting fresh trees to decorate in their living rooms when all good sense and science points toward PLANTING trees to sequester carbon. Not CUTTING them. The future refugees will look back with anger from their soggy sleeping cots at Christmas celebrations in the 2020’s.

Maybe we can change the tradition, I tell him. Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, how lovely when you’re growing…

It remains a world of self-destruction, Buddha says.

I suppose it will remain a world of self-denial too. I personally love the smell of fresh conifers in my house, while the rain and snow falls on the outside. Heat from a wood stove, chestnuts roasting, Christmas cookies in the oven.

Enjoy it while you can. Buddha says to sit with the trees and try not to cut them down. Paul Bunyan as a giant hoedad (tree planter). Babe the Blue Ox as the world’s largest fertilizer.

It doesn’t take THAT much of an imagination to change things….